'Railroad Killer' survivor helps others

The only known survivor of an attack by the "Railroad Killer" said she intends to spend the rest of her life helping other crime victims.

Holly Dunn Pendleton, who survived an attack by train-hopping serial killer Angel Maturino Resendiz in Lexington in 1997, spoke Wednesday at a victims' rights rally at the Capitol in Frankfort.

"I never expected to be a victim of a crime, to be a victim of a serial killer," Pendleton said. "I never expected to be the only known survivor. But it gave me my life's passion. My life's passion is to be the best survivor that I can be."

Pendleton said she plans to open the Holly House, a victims' center in Evansville, Ind., in October.

Resendiz, who was linked to 15 murders, was executed in Texas last year. The Mexican drifter, who had described himself as half-man, half-angel, received a lethal injection for the 1998 slaying of physician Claudia Benton.

Pendleton, who lives in Henderson, said she and her boyfriend, Chris Maier, were attacked by Resendiz while they were students at the University of Kentucky. Maier was killed, and Pendleton was raped, beaten, stabbed and left for dead.

She said Wednesday she chooses to live as a survivor, not a victim, and wants others to do the same.

"It is now my passion," she said. "And I'm glad I have that passion. I hope I can pass that on to others and just continue to help others, because I think that's what life ought to be about."

Kentucky's top prosecutor, Attorney General Greg Stumbo, praised Pendleton.

"The importance of providing support and assistance to crime victims is a critical and core component of justice in America," he said.